The Song Of The Black Phoenix
by NocturnalFriend
Summary: Harry Potter wishes for freedom and discovers his animagus form by accident. Crashing into the garden of the Weasley family and befriending Percy changes history. Will Harry reveal who he is when a certain Hogwarts letter arrives? Or will he stay a phoenix forever? Rated M to be safe.
1. Where A Song Meets A Friend

**Hello dear readers! I hope you will enjoy this new piece of fiction I started. Please note this will evolve into a PErcy x Harry slash fic later on. (When Harry is 16 in this story) So for all who don't like, don't read. I don't own any of Rowling's characters or spells, not even the Harry Potter world, sadly.**

 **Now, enjoy!**

 _Chapter 1 Where A Song Meets A Friend  
_

Harry Potter was a nine year old boy. He also was a wizard, but he didn't know that for his so called family never told him about that little fact. They only called him freak and punished him for his accidental magic, calling it freakishness. The nine year old had no idea what caused his teachers hair to turn blue or why the skeleton in his biology class danced around Miss Chapel when she was unfair to everyone. After all, he didn't know about his magic. The Dursleys knew, but they only saw it as a rebellion from the child. Harry was often bullied by his whale of a cousin. He couldn't do anything about it. If the teachers at his school told his aunt and uncle, his uncle would punish him with no food for a weak or more chores to do or a beating. It all was up to his uncle's mood at the time. Dudley was never punished for anything. His cousin was coddled and pampered while Harry had to do chores to earn his stay as his uncle would say. It wasn't fair, he thought every time they favored his cousin and neglected him out of hate for who he was.

This was his life until he turned nine years old. Most children's ninth birthday wouldn't differ from their eight or tenth birthday. Their parents would throw a birthday party to recognize that another year had passed. They would give their beloved son or daughter gifts to make them happy and feel loved. Harry had never had a party in his life. His presents, if he got one, were old socks, maybe a small amount of newer clothes from Dudley's old ones. (Mostly clothes Dudley had refused to wear.) Still, his ninth birthday changed everything for him.

The day before was extra hard for little Harry. The only way his relatives acknowledged the day of his birth was with even more chores that he barely finished in time. The night, he was back again in his cupboard. His stomach gave noise, letting him know how hungry he was. He hadn't had dinner today for burning his cousin's ham when said cousin had pushed him against the hot stove. The burn marks still hurt on his tiny hands.

 _I wish I could fly away,_ Harry thought. _A bird's life would be better than this hell hole._ Harry dreamed of flying away, his feathers a midnight black with a green tinge to them. He flew far away until his wings hurt and then he landed on soft grass and slept peacefully.

When he woke up, he noticed something was different. The world was much bigger than it had been before. He also wasn't in his cupboard anymore. Cars could be heard rushing over him. Curious, he cocked his head and looked up. He was under a bridge. The sky was clouded and the air heavy with the promise of rain.

Harry had o idea how he came to be under a bridge and not his cupboard under the stairs. As he looked around curiously, he noticed his reflection in the muddy water of the river Themse. He wasn't a human boy anymore, but a beautiful bird! In awe at his appearance, he approached the water's edge. His feathers were midnight black with green tips and his tail feathers were longer than he'd ever seen on any other bird. His eyes weren't black, but still very human. They were their emerald green he possessed since birth.

Still frolicking in his new found freedom, however strange the whole situation was, he decided to fly around. It was time for him to explore the world, something he never could while living with the Dursleys!

XXX

Percy Weasley was a silent thirteen years old. His older brothers all had been loud and rebellious at this age. They would climb in trees or fly on their old brooms and play Quidditch or find ways to hex their owl Arrol so his feathers would glow in the dark like this new muggle invention of glow sticks his father had told about. No, Percy was different. He liked to read all kind of books, especially about politics. His goal was to work in the ministry of magic one day, like his father. Not as a muggle accidents investigator, like Arthur Weasly, though. As someone worthy of attention! His brothers thought him boring and often made fun of him. They just didn't see how fun books could be!, he thought. They didn't understand him. They didn't know how difficult it was to be the little brother to four older brothers who would be great someday.

Percy was sitting in the grass, his nose in one of his books about magical theory of the nineties, when he heard it. A soft trilling noise. It sounded weak, but so beautiful and sad, Percy couldn't believe for a short moment that it was even real. It sounded again and the boy stood up, dusted off his trousers, and searched for the bird whose trilling he had heard.

The bird in question was found under his mother's bush of pink carnation. His mother loved the plant for its various meaning throughout the world's cultures. It could mean love and death, or symbolize the power of a divine goddess. It was a powerful incredient for some potions, the boy had read in his potion books, but only if it was used right. Like a two bladed sword it could work one way or the other. Either a cure or a poison. Percy liked the flower, even if it was girly, his brothers would say. The dramatic flair of such an innocent looking plant…

Shaking his head, the boy looked down on the poor little bird whose soft trilling had brought his attention to the carnation in the first place. It looked a lot like a raven, with its black feathers. The size was that of one, but the similarities stopped there. The bird was like no other, his aura of intelligence and power radiating from the small body, and the long tail feathers like the tail of a comet. The green tips seemed to glow like little flames in the midday sun.

Many wizards would have seen the bird as dangerous, dark or the product of a mishappen spell. Percy Weasley saw a friend.

"Hi, little bird." He whispered, so he wouldn't scare the petite bird. "I'm Percy. I'm going to take care of you, okay? So you don't need to be afraid."

Intelligent emeralds looked up, the long neck moving in fluid motion. Percy could now see the odd angle which the left wing possessed. It must be broken, he thought.

"You poor bird. You must be hurting pretty bad!" he exclaimed.

And not waiting for the bird to protest, he carefully snatched him from under the pink flower bush and took him to his mother, intending to care for his little friend. The outcome of this act couldn't have been predicted, not even from the best seer in the world.

Xxx

Harry was scared. After having flown so long without rest, his new body had given out on him. His muscles weren't used to so much exercise, after all. The crash into the nice smelling flowers had hurt and something in his left wing had snapped. Now he had no other choice but to lie still, in the hopes of not getting discovered by some stray cat that would eat him as its lunch. Trilling sadly, he'd unintentionally gotten the attention of a boy with flaming red hair.

The boy seemed nice. He saw how miserable Harry was and took him in his arms. They went to the house. So he must have crashed in a garden. It wasn't like the clean cut hedges and rose bushes of his aunt's, so he hadn't recognized the wild tundra as one. The house was equally unlike his previous home. How could it even stand, was his first question. The house seemed like straight out of a fantasy novel.

"Mom, look what I found in the garden! He was under your carnation bush and he's badly hurt!" the boy shouted. A woman with red curly hair entered to what appeared to be the kitchen area.

"Percy Weasley! What in Merlin's name let you to shouting through the whole house? You know that Ginny needs her sleep and how dare you wake her—"

She stopped her rant when she saw the miserable bird perched in the red head's arms. "Oh, my! What a poor little thing!"

"He's hurt his wing, mom." Percy said.

"Well, it's really thoughtful of you to bring him inside. Who knows what might have gotten it outside. Let's take a look at that wing."

She carefully touched the appendage and Harry involuntarily twitched from the pain.

"I'm sorry little bird, but I need to know if it's broken. Here! It is broken, but that's fixed in a minute or two."

She took out a thin wooden stick and pointed it at the broken wing.

" _Episkey."_

Harry noticed a weird feeling in his left wing, until it didn't hurt at all. The woman had used magic! It was real! Harry moved his wing, stretching it to see if it was fully healed.

"Now, let the bird go, Percy. Bring it back to weher you found it."

"But mom! He is my friend!"

"Percy! You're always so reasonable. This bird isn't a pet. It's a wild animal."

Harry decided to get his opinion into the argument. Not being able to speak directly, he climbed onto the boy's shoulder, careful not to hurt Percy. On his new perch, he looked at the woman daringly, as if to say: This is my place. Here, I will stay.

Molly Weasley sighed. "If even the bird wants to stay, then I guess it's okay. But he's your responsibility, Percy."

"Thank you, mom!" the boy shouted and hugged her. The matriarch smiled warmly, happy to see her third son this excited about the prospect of caring for his new friend. Hopefully the bird would stay.


	2. Interlude

Interlude - A Letter

The headmaster was a very powerful wizard and greatly respected throughout the wizarding world. Not only had he been a prodigious student, but he also defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald. Albus Dumbledore, poster child for a light wizard, was very wise from ages of learning and traveling. He'd seen and done things normal people wouldn't even dream of, and not every chapter of his life was the light wizard persona the world was seeing him as. Of course, nobody was perfect.

It was a surprise as an old strix nebuloso, commonly known as a great grey owl, tried to fly gracefully into his office. Well, it _tried_. Reality looked a bit more like half crashing on his desk into a bowl with lemon drops. The headmaster blinked. Then, he noticed the folded and sealed parchment. The owl clutched a letter in its talons and looked like it would keel over any minute and Dumbledore feared he had to send a letter back to whoever was contacting him, writing his condolences about the death of their beloved pet.

To his great relief, the owl was still breathing and now getting back on its feet. It proudly stretched out its leg with the letter, having done its task successful. Dumbleore carefully petted the owl. It went to Fawke's and took an owl treat, then it flew back out the window. The headmaster opened the letter. He recognized the script of Arthur Weasley.

 _Dear headmaster,_

 _I write to you about a matter that is concerning my son Percy who will start his first year this fall. He found an interesting black colored bird in our backyard. The animal was badly hurt, so my wife healed him and after seeing, it wouldn't leave of its own volition, Percy was allowed to keep him. The bird is quite intelligent and our other son Charly seems to think it resembles closely a phoenix._

 _We aren't sure if Charly's right in his assumption, so as having a phoenix yourself, I want you to meet with Percy at the beginning of the new school term and hopefully know the answer to this question._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Arthur Weasley_

Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought. A black phoenix. Quite rare, and not something he had ever encountered. If it really was a phoenix, the young Weasley boy didn't have the easiest life before him. A black phoenix, also called phoenix of night or darkness, was affiliate with hardship and sorrow that had to be overcome. It was the other side of a phoenix like Fawkes, but not quite. A black phoenix was nearly as pure and light as Fawkes.

As Dumbledore brooded over the matter, his curiosity sparked and he decided to follow Arthur Weasleys request.


	3. A Friendly Beginning

Chapter 2 - Friendly Beginnings

Staying he did. Harry actually liked his new life as a familiar. Percy was considerate in his care for him. After researching what kind of bird Harry was and only finding a vague definition (something that frustrated the Weasley to no end), he made a bird perch and a place to sleep in his room for Harry. The raven colored bird trilled happily in thanks for Percy. The answer was a happy smile from the red head.

Of course, Harry was still a human. When Percy tried to feed him with owl treats, Harry refused to eat them. He was no owl! He refused any other bird food and after the third try, Harry stole Percy's sandwich and ate it in the safety of the raftzers.

After Percy saw that his bird wouldn't get sick from eating his sandwich, he allowed Harry to eat whatever he wanted, as long as it wouldn't make him sick. (Harry wholeheartedly agreed with Percys decision.)

A week after staying at the burrow, as the house was named apparently, Harry got to know what he was. Percy's elder brother, Charlie, had taken interest in the rare appearance of Percy's new bird and done his own research. One morning at breakfast, he'd presented his findings with the conclusion that Yuugen, as he was named now, was a phoenix.

"Don't be stupid, Charlie. A phoenix is red, not black!" Fred said from where he ate his porridge. George beside him nodded profusely. The twins always were seated next to each other, always inseparable. They had gotten sorted into the same house which hadn't been surprising to anyone.

"Even if he's not red and gold like a phoenix, he has all the other attributes of one." Charlie defended his theory. "Maybe we should ask Dumbledore. His familiar is a phoenix, so he would know."

"A good idea, Charlie. Maybe Percy could ask the headmaster once the school starts agin in October. What do you say Percy? Yuugen is your bird after all."

"Okay. I will ask Professor Dumbledore. But even if Yuugen is a phoenix, he will stay with me!"

All Weasleys laughed. It was cute how protective the boy was of his new friend, and the black bird seemed to like the protectiveness, because he trilled happily at Percy's words. The breakfast continued with talk about Arthur's work at the ministry and Molly Weasley scolding the twins for their latest pranks (They finally found a way to make Errol glow in the dark. Percy had secretly told Harry that he'd asked them about the spell.) and a raven colored bird hopping over the table to snatch some ham from Percy's plate.

XXX

The new Hogwarts year was about to start soon and with it came the usual letters. Mrs Weasley got everyone to Diagon Alley via the floo network. Harry knew one thing. He hated traveling via floo powder. It was scary to the ten year old. Whoever invented it hadn't thought about ten year olds. It probably had been some barmy old man with too much spare time on his hands.

He dug his claws into Percy's shoulder, making holes in the tunic the red head wore. Mr Weasley looked at the ruined tunic with contemplation.

"Maybe we also should buy something to stop Yuugen ruining your clothes." He said. They went to Eeylops Owl Emporium where they were greeted by the hoots of snow owls, pidgeon owls, and other species. The inside was dark, even for Yuugen's superior eyesight. A shopkeeper approached them.

"What can I get the fine gentlemen? An owl? Or are you looking for some owl treats? We have a special offer this week: Two packs of Eeylops Finest Owl Treats for the prize of one!"

The shopkeeper gave them a blinding smile. Mr Weasley shook his head. "Actually, we're here to buy some protective equipment so my son's raven wouldn't ruin his clothes every time he uses his shoulder as a perch."

The shopkeeper took a look at Yuugen and nodded in understanding. "We have some falconry equipment stored in the back. Even some harnesses with enforced leather on the shoulder part. Normally, there aren't many wizards who still use them, but as far as I know, Hogwarts hasn't prohibited pupils in wearing them under their robes."

"Can we see one of these?"

"Of course!"

The shopkeeper vanished into the darkness of the shop and reappeared after a few minutes, the leather harness in hand. It looked like two belts crossed over with broad shoulder parts.

"Come over here, there's more light. Try it on!"

Yuugen flew over to an owl perch on the desk, while Percy got shown how to wear the harness. It could be adjusted, so Percy could still wear it when he was fully grown. The shoulders would be protected by the enforced leather and gave a stable place to rest for the black phoenix.

"How much would it cost? It must be expensive."

The shopkeeper laughed. "No, no! I had this thing in the back room for quite a while. No wizard buys them anymore, so I'm glad to even have a buyer! Fourteen sickles would be fine."

Mr Weasley gave the shopkeeper fourteen sickles and they left Eeylops, Yuugen resting again on Percy's shoulder.

They reunited with the rest of the Weasley clan before a massive book store. Mrs Weasley had taken matters into her own hands and purchased all her sons books already, so they went back to the public floo network point.

Yuugen had never seen a train in his life as Harry Potter. He'd seen a few while flying over Great Brittain as Yuugen. Now, seeing the Hogwarts express up close, he was impressed by its size.

His claws dug into the enforced leather so he wouldn't fall off in the chaos that surrounded them. They had gotten sharper over time as he grew a bit in size, but they didn't pierce through it. Mrs Weasley had been pleasantly surprised when her husband told her about their purchase. It must have been a pretty good deal.

Percy heaved his luggage into thetrain and on the luggage racks over an empty compartment. He closed the door behind himself and fell into a seat.

"Finally! You okay there? It was pretty crowded on the platform."

Yuugen trilled, showing he was fine. The black phoenix felt a warm feeling in his chest, he got every time the teenager showed that he cared for him.

Percy smiled relieved. "I was worried you would get lost. It's the same every year!"

The door opened and a tall boy entered. "Hey Percy! Ready for our fourth year at Hogwarts?" he asked the red head. "Olliver! How was your vacation in Germany? I heard you had gotten tickets for the Quidditch match in Berlin?" "Yeah, my dad had bought them as my birthday present. The Heidelberg Harriers against the Braga Broomfleet. It was their first game with their new seeker and I have to tell you, it was awesome!"

The dark haired teenager talked about quidditch for the next twenty minutes. Yuugen listened, everything about the wizarding world fascinating to him.

"So, how was yours? I see you got an owl?"

Percy gave Olliver a look that said he must be stupid not to see that Yuugen was no owl.

"Really, Olliver? Even a Slytherin could tell you the difference. It's a black bird of prey."

Olliver gave an impressed whistle.

"Are they even allowed?" he asked.

"He's tame. And I have to ask Professor Dumbledore about Yuugen anyway. Charlie thinks that Yuugen is a phoenix. Total crap, if you ask me."

"You have to admit, he looks like Fawkes." Olliver said contemplative. Percy stared at him. Would Olliver believe his brothers over him?

"You would tell me if you were a phoenix, right Yuugen?" Percy asked the black bird. Yuugen trilled and preened his feathers.

The boys laughed, seriousness forgotten.

The castle rose on the dark horizon. Yuugen had never seen a castle up close in his life. (He hadn'T seen a lot in his short time on earth). If he thought the burrow was great, well, the castle was magnificent. Awestruck, he perched on the Weasley's shoulder. Percy got some curious looks from other students, nobody recognizing the bird. Yuugen didn't notice them. His eyes were transfixed by the castle of Hogwarts, the windows lighted from inside, the sky a dark blue.

Percy and Olliver were on their way to the great hall for the start of term feast, when a stern looking woman halted them. "Mr. Wood! Mr. Weasley!" she said in an even sterner voice. Yuugen tried not to get her attention, knowing she wouldn't take well to any fooling around.

"Professor McGonnagal." The boys greeted her respectfully. She ignored Olliver and directed her next words at Percy.

"Professor Dumbledore got your parent's letter and wishes to see you after the feast. You can tell your familiar to rest in the owlery for the time being."

She left, probably to greet the first years.

Percy looked at the bird perched on his shoulder. "Can you please go to the owlery? I will get you after I've spoken with the headmaster."

Yuugen left, unwillingly at first, but he would do what his friend told him to.

The owlery was packed with owls. Barn owls, little owls, snow owls, and more that he didn't remember the name of. The owls hooted in varying sound and loudness. Yuugen picked up one or two greeting hoots from the snow and barn owls while the others all searched a good spot for their nest to rest after the stressful train ride.

Yuugen decided on a high place, on the rafters. It was hidden from sight, so no human would see him with his dark feathers, but he could still spy on everyone that would come up the stairs and he could look out the window into the night. A perfect place for a nest.


End file.
